Ramoche Temple

Ramoche Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, is regarded as the most important temple after the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. It is one of the great three Geluka university monasteries after the Jokhang Monastery. It situated in the northwest of Lhasa City and about 500 meters away from the north of Barkhor Street. It is 1 kilometer north of the Jokhang and east of the Potala Palace.

It is said that Jokhang and Ramoche Temples started to build and were completed about the same time. According to historical document, Ramoche Temple was taken charge of by Prince Wencheng and designed and constructed by craftsmen from the inner China so that the early buildings resemble the style of Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD). The main gate faces the east, which expresses a kind of emotion toward her parents and country. The temple shrines a small bronze statue of the Buddha when he was 8, brought to Lhasa by the Nepalese Princess. The temple was once badly destroyed by Mongolia invasion and Red Guards during Cultural Revolution. The original building was destroyed by fire and the now temple was reconstructed in 1474.

The main building has three stories and the first floor is composed of ab atrium, a scripture hall and a Buddha palace with winding corridors. The wall of corridors was painted with the image of Amitayus Buddha. The second floor has a chapel shrining statue of Buddha when he was 8yearsr old. The third floor is the bedroom for Dalai Lama. The golden peak with the Han-style upturned eaves can be seen at any direction of Lhasa.

Now Ramoche Temple is the key national cultural relic protection sites in Tibet. When you visit the temple, you are not allowed to take photos and shoot.